Lou Dobbs, a conservative political pundit and TV host who appeared nightly on Fox Business Network for more than a decade, has died. He was 78.
His death was announced Thursday in a post on his official X account, which called him a “fighter to the end – fighting for what mattered most to him, God, his family and his country.”
“Lou’s legacy will live on as a great patriot and American. We ask for your prayers for Lou’s wonderful wife, Debi, his children, and grandchildren,” the post read.
He hosted “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on FOX Business from 2011 to 2021, after two stints at CNN.
Fox News Media said in a statement that the network was mourning Dobbs’ passing.
“A great businessman with a flair for broadcasting, Lou helped pioneer cable news into a successful and influential industry,” the statement said. “We are deeply grateful for his many contributions and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family.”
Dobbs was named in a lawsuit filed against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems over lies told on the network about the 2020 presidential election. A mediator in 2023 pushed the two sides toward a $787 million settlement, avoiding a trial. A mountain of evidence — some damning, some just embarrassing — suggests many Fox executives and on-air talent didn’t believe the allegations aired largely on shows hosted by Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. At the time, they feared upsetting Trump fans in their audience with the truth.
When he joined Fox Business, he said he considered himself an underdog. A few years later, his show was a top-rated hit and he became a key figure on the right-leaning network.
“We’re going to focus on the American people, their standard of living … the American nation,” he said of his show in 2011. “That’s always been my starting point.”
Dobbs’ Fox show is called “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” the same one he left in 2009 after an awkward final few years at CNN. Once television’s most prominent business journalist with his show “Moneyline” in the 1990s, Dobbs made CNN management uncomfortable as he became more opinionated and drew angry protests from Latinos over his emphasis on curbing illegal immigration.
Dobbs studies public policy and the complex economic issues that move society.
Dobbs said he always wants to be honest with his viewers about his views on various issues.
“My audience always expects me to tell them where I come from, and I see no reason to disappoint them,” he said in 2011.
